Registering apparatus.



No. 628,040. Paten ted luly 4, I899. W. A. A. ROPER.

REGISTERING APPARATUS.

(AppXiea tion flied am. so, 1899.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES A PATENT, OFFIC REGISTERING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed January 30, 1 89 9.

To a Ill/0077b it may calmer:

Be it known that I, WILHELM ADoLrH AU- GUST RoPER, a subject of the Emperor of Ger many, residing at Hamburg, in the German Empire, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Registering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention has relation to registering apparatus, and more particularly to the combination of a registering mechanism with appliances for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another-as, for instance, with appliances forloading and unloading vehicles and boats or for otherwise shifting materials from one point to another.

The invention has for its object the provision of means whereby each load shifted is automatically registered and whereby a fraudulent registration without the connivance of the person having charge of the apparatus is rendered impossible, or practically so; but that my invention may be fully understood I will describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a registering apparatus embodying my invention, the rear wall or plate of the casing being removed; and- Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

The casing of the apparatus (of any suitable material, preferably metal, and of the form shown) is composed of front and rear plates d d each provided with an extension cl at its lower end, and of side walls g, correspondin g in form to that of the front and rear walls, and having at one end a loop or eye 9 for connection with the hoisting and shifting appliances, and below said eye a circular chamber or seat 9 whereby and in conjunction with said front and rear walls a housing is formed'for the reception of a suitable'registering mechanism, which is preferably contained in a circular casing F, fitting snugly into said housing, the front wall cl of the main casing being provided with a suitable aperture (not shown) and facing the register-indices, so that the number of loads shifted may be readily read.

As shown, the casing of the apparatus is pear-shaped, or substantially so, with a view to reducing its dimensions as much as possible, and it will be observed that the side Wall .the casin g.

Patent NO. 628,040, dated July 4, 1899.

Serial No. 703,866. (No model.)

g on the left of the central vertical line of said casing does not extend quite to the vertical edges of the plate-like extensions d of the front and rear walls (Z d while on the left of said central line the side wall extends between said extensions nearly to said central line for purposes hereinafter explained. These side walls 9 and the front wall d may be and in practice are preferably formed integral, as shown, while the back wall or plate cZ is secured to said side walls in any wellknown or preferred manner.

The load to be shifted is connected with a hook at, whose shank C6 is pivoted near its upper end on a stud or pin e, secured to or having its hearings in the front and rear walls of The hook-shank a has at its upper end a laterally and downwardly projecting arm aflwhose upper face is curved,said arm terminating in a locking-hook a It will be seen that the length of the load-supporting hook a a below its pivotal connection is such that when in a vertical position under the strain of a load the entrance to said hook will lie between the extensions d d, and the hookshank a will abut against the terminal g of the side wall 9 on the right side of the casing, Fig. 1, so that a load thereon cannot be removed unless such load is first deposited upon a fixed support, so asto allow the hook to swing on its pivot, when it may be swung from between said extensions, as shown in dotted lines in said Fig. 1. This movement is imparted to the hook by a spring 0, and. said movement is limited by the terminal 9 of the side wall 9 of the casing on the left of the hook, so that said terminals 9 g of said side wall 9 perform the function of abutments or stops for the hook and limit the amplitude of its vibrations in one or the other direction.

The vibrating movement of the load-supporting hook in one direction-i. e., from the abutment g to the abutment g -is transmitted to an actuating-rod f (which preferably carries a roller f) through the upper curvilinear or cam face a of the arm a on hook-shank a in contact with said roller f, whereby said vibrating movement of the loadsupporting hook is converted into a vertical rectilinear movement of the rod.

The rod f actuates the prime mover of the registering mechanism, which latter may be of any well-known construction. Said prime mover may, for instance, consist of a ratchetwheel, the rod fbeing provided with a springcontrolled pawl, which may be so arranged as to actuate said ratchet-wheel during the upstroke of the rod f, the latter moving in a reverse direction either by gravity or under the influence of a suitable spring, so that the roller f of said rod will at all times be in contact with the cam-face a of the arm a of the load-supporting hook.

Appliances such as just described for actuating a prime mover of a registering mech anism are in common use, and as the registering mechanism itself may be of any wellknown construction I have deemed it unnec essary to illustrate and describe these appliances.

An apparatus constructed to operate as del scribed so far could of course be made to register loads without shifting the same by simply hoisting a load sufficiently above its place of rest to move the hook from its position shown in dotted lines into its position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and then lowering the load to its said place of rest and moving said hook back into its position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. To prevent such fraudulent practice, I provide a key-operated locking device in the form of a latch Z2, pivoted to the i casing and held bya spring I) in the path of, the hook a on the arm a of the hook-shank, a against a stop-pin b which limits the move- 5 ment of said latch under the stress of its The latch bhas a plate projection b provided along its upper edge with a flange b spring.

(shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) and in the front cover-plate d of the casing is formed a keyhole so located as that when a key corresponding with said keyhole is inserted and turned the key-bit will engage the flange b and lift the latch I) out of engagement with its companion latch-namely, the arm a on the hook-shank ct. This simple and somewhat primitive arrangement is merely given as an example ofa means for moving the latch 'b against the stress of its spring 17 but other appliances wellknown in the art of constructing locks which may not be readily tampered with can be employed, so that fraudulent registration of a load cannot be made without the connivance of the person having custody of the key.

controlled by the vibration of said support forimparting rectilinear motion to the actuating-rod, for the purpose set forth.

2. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting means for connectingit with the hoisting and shifting appliances, a suitable registering mechanism, an actuating-rod therefor, means controlled by the vibration of the load-support for imparting rectilinear motion to the actuating-rod and means for limiting the amplitude of the vibratory motion of said support, for the purpose set forth.

3. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising a swinging load-supporting hook, means for connecting the same with the hoisting and shifting appliances, means for holding said hook normally at an angle to a vertical, and means for closing the entrance to said hook when swung into a vertical plane by a load, in combination with a suitable registering mechanism, an actuating-rod therefor and means operated by the hook for imparting rectilinear motion to said rod when said hook swings into a vertical plane, for the purpose set forth.

4. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising a swinging load-support, means for connecting the same with the hoisting and shifting appliances and means for holding the support normally at an angle to a vertical; in combination with a suitable registering mechanism, an actuating-rod therefor, means operated by the load-support for imparting to said rod a rectilinear motion when said support is swung into a vertical plane by a load, and locking devices operating to lock said support in its said vertical position, for the purpose set forth.

5. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising a swinging load-support, means for connecting the same with the hoisting and shifting appliances and means for holding the support normally at an angle to avertical; in combination witha suitable registering mechanism, an actuating-rod therefor, means operated by the load-support for imparting to said rod a rectilinear motion when said support is swung into a vertical plane bya load, and spring-and-key-operated locking devices operating to lock said support in its vertical position, for the purpose set forth.

6. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising a'swinging load-supporting hook, means for connecting the same with the hoisting and shifting appliances, abutments on opposite sides of said hook limiting the amplitude of its vibratory movements and permitting the same to vibrate from a vertical plane in one direction only, a spring holding said hook normally at an angle to a vertical, a

suitable registering mechanism, an actuatingrod therefor, and means operated by the hook when swung into a vertical plane by a load, to impart rectilinear motion to said rod; in combination with appliances for simultaneously locking both hook and rod against motion, for the purpose set forth. i

7. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising a swinging load-supporting hook, means for connecting the same with the hoisting and shifting appliances, abutinents on opposite sides of said hook limiting the amplitude of its vibratory movements and permitting the same to vibrate from a vertical plane in one direction only, a spring holding said hook normally at an angle to a vertical, a suitable registering mechanism, an actuatingrod therefor, and means operated by the hook when swung into a vertical plane by the load, to impart rectilinear motion to said rod; in combination with appliances for locking both hook and rod against motion and for closing the entrance to said hook, for the purpose set forth.

8. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising a casing constructed for connection with the hoisting and shifting appliances, a suitable registering mechanism contained in said casing and a vertically-movable actuating-rod for said mechanism, in combination with a load-support pivoted at a point intermediate of its ends in and projecting from said casing, said support having an inclined cam-face a at its upper end in contact with the aforesaid rod and terminating in a hook a a spring connected with the support above its pivot and tending to hold said support at an angle to a vertical, and a spring-controlled locking-latch arranged to engage the hook a when the load-support is swung against the stress of its spring into a vertical plane, for the purpose set forth.

9. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism for registering each load hoisted and shifted, comprising acasing whose side walls are arranged to form terminal ab utments 9 9 said casing constructed for connection with hoisting and shifting appliances and provided with the plate-like extensionscl extending beyond said abutment-terminals and with a chamber or seat for a suitable registering mechanism and an actuating-rod extending into said chamber, in combination with a load-supporting hook pivoted at a point intermediate of its ends in and of such a length as that the entrance of its hook will lie between the aforesaid extensions CZ when said hook lies in a vertical plane, a spring connected with the hook-shank above its pivot and tending to hold the same against the abutment-terminal g to expose the entrance to said hook the latter having at its upper end a laterally and downwardly projecting arm a terminating in a hook or catch a having the cam-face a in contact with the aforesaid actuating-rod, the spring-controlled latch 19 arranged to engage the catch a when the load-supporting hook lies in a vertical plape, and means for disengaging said latch from the hook, for the purpose set forth.

10. In apparatus for hoisting and shifting loads from one point to another, mechanism .for registering each load hoisted and shifted,

comprising a casing whose side walls are arranged to form terminal abutments g 9 said casing constructed for connection with hoisting and shifting appliances and provided with the plate-like extensions d extending beyond said abutment-terminals and with a chamber or seat for a suitable registering mechanism, and an actuatingrod extending into said chamber, in combination with a load-support ing hook pivoted at a point intermediate of its ends in and of such a length as that the entrance of its hook will lie between the aforesaid extensions d when said hook lies in a vertical plane, a spring connected with the hook-shank above its pivot and tending to hold the same against the abutment-terminal g to expose the entrance to said hook, the latter having at its upper end a laterally and downwardly projecting arm a terminating in a hook or catch a having the cam-face a in contact with the aforesaid actuating-rod, the spring-controlled latch 19 arranged to engage the catch a when the load-supporting hook lies in a vertical plane,and means for disengaging said latch from the hook, for the purpose'set forth.

WlLllELM IVitnesses:

ALEXANDER SPECHT, E. H. L. MUMMENHOFF.

tnoiiru AUGUST Rtriin. 

